HI Chris, from my perspective, in the case of reading, one would surely want an implicit conversion between datatypes if this makes sense. Obviously for “extending types” (if I request a Long but internally, an int is stored) but also for “castable” types, i.e. if I request a Double but internally int or long is stored. In this scenario I would like a cast if the double value is “integer enough” (with regards to a configured epsilon, possibly) or an exception otherwise. (Off-Topic question: Does anyone know an open source project for doing these casts from arbitrary java types to others, especially the numeric ones. I remember that I had used one once, but I can’t recall the name.) All of this obviously only makes sense if information of the stored type is available. For writing, I personally would prefer your second option, as I would prefer an Exception over “unwanted” behavior. Perhaps the first option could be used with a “forced” bit, if someone really knows what he / she is doing.
Best Julian
